Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a planning application. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome we could achieve for Ms X at this time. The issues Ms X has raised do not amount to fault warranting investigation or cause her significant injustice as the Council has not yet decided whether to grant planning permission.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the Council’s highways department’s response to consultation about a planning application for development on a site next to her property. She also complains the Council initially recorded the address of the site incorrectly and failed to put up a site notice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Council acknowledges it initially recorded an incorrect address for the planning application but confirms that once Ms X reported this, the issue was quickly rectified. It also apologised if this causes Ms X any distress. This issue is resolved and did not cause Ms X any significant injustice; we will not therefore investigate it further.
5. Ms X believes the Council should have put up site notices to notify neighbours of the application but this is only one of the options for neighbour notification; the Council has explained it sent notification letters to neighbours as an alternative to putting up a site notice and it is not required to prove delivery. It is therefore unlikely we could prove there was fault by the Council as it is just as likely that any issue with delivery of the letters resulted from issues with the postal service. However the Council confirms it has received several responses from neighbours and will consider their points in deciding the application. This is what we would expect and it is unlikely we could achieve anything more for Ms X by investigating further.
6. As part of the application the Council’s planning department sought advice from the highways department about the implications of the proposal on highways matters. The highways department felt the proposal raised no material issues as the existing lawful use of the site offset any impact. It is clear Ms X disagrees with the highways department’s comments but they are a matter of professional judgement and I have seen no basis for us to question them. Ms X suggests the Council is wrong about existing use of the site but the issue is not how the site is currently used but how its lawful use allows it to be used. I appreciate Ms X believes the site should be used for a purpose that would benefit the community but she is not the owner and it is not therefore up to her to decide its future.
7. In any event, the Council has yet to determine the planning application and may therefore still decide to refuse it. We could not therefore say these issues have caused her significant injustice and we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for Ms X by investigating the matter further at this time.
8. If the Council decides to approve the application, and if Ms X believes the Council has failed to properly consider objections and other material planning considerations, she may raise a new complaint with the Council about these issues. Once the complaint has exhausted the Council’s complaints procedure and if Ms X remains unhappy, she may refer the complaint to us to consider further. We will not however revisit the complaints addressed in this statement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show its actions caused Ms X significant injustice. We also cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Ms X by investigating the issues she has raised at this time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman